What to Expect at Your First Tufting Workshop in Philadelphia

August 02, 2026

If you've booked a tufting workshop with us — or you're thinking about it and want to know what you're walking into — this is the page for you. We've been teaching tufting in Philadelphia since 2018, and the questions we get before a class are remarkably consistent. Here are the honest answers.

Where you're going

All of our Philadelphia workshops happen at the Tuft Education Studio inside the Bok Building, 1901 S. 9th Street, Room 501, Philadelphia, PA 19148. Bok is the old vocational high school in South Philly that's been converted into studios for makers, and it's worth arriving a few minutes early just to look around.

A note that trips people up: the Dudley Street entrance is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. If you're coming through the 8th, 9th, or Mifflin Street entrances, you'll need to use the Butterfly keypad by the door — search for Tuft the World on the screen and we'll buzz you in.

We're only in the space during workshops. It isn't a shop, and it isn't an order pickup location.

Getting there and parking

We'll be straight with you: parking in this part of South Philly can be genuinely annoying. Street parking exists near the building, but permit rules change block to block, so read the signs carefully.

If your workshop falls at a peak time, the low-stress move is to park further out and come in on transit, or take a rideshare. Bok sits near the 45 and 47 bus routes, and the Snyder and Tasker-Morris stops on the Broad Street Line are both a short walk away.

What to wear

Wear clothes you don't mind getting fuzzy. Tufting throws a surprising amount of yarn lint, and it clings. Closed-toe shoes are a good idea — you'll be standing at a frame for a good portion of the class, and there are scissors and machines in play.

Skip anything loose and dangling. Long sleeves that flap, scarves, and long necklaces are all things you'd rather not have near a running tufting machine. If you have long hair, tie it back.

What to bring

Nothing, really. All materials are included — frame, cloth, yarn, and machines are all provided. You're welcome to bring your own tufting machine if you already own one and want to learn on it.

Two things worth bringing anyway:

• Food. If your workshop overlaps a mealtime, bring a snack or a light meal. The longer classes are a real chunk of the day.
• A design idea. We'll cover what makes a design work in a tufted piece, but you'll get more out of the class if you've thought about it beforehand. Keep it to roughly 24" x 24" or smaller — that's the frame size — and think in large color shapes rather than fine detail. Tufting is a chunky medium. Thin lines and small text fight the material.

Do you get to keep what you make?

Yes. You leave with your piece. That's the whole point.

What's worth setting expectations on is finish. In a single workshop you'll tuft your design and we'll walk you through how to cut, glue, and finish a piece — but a fully finished, backed, bound rug is more work than one session allows. Most people leave with a tufted piece they're proud of and a clear understanding of how to complete the finishing at home. If you want to go deeper on that, our finishing guides cover the whole process.

Which workshop should you pick?

We run three in-person formats. They differ mostly in how much time you get and how big a piece you can make.

• Mini-tuft workshop — $75. The shortest way in. Good if you're curious but not ready to commit a day, or if you're testing whether you like the craft before buying a machine.
• Drink and Tuft — $100. An evening class. This is our date-night and after-work option, and it's the one people book when they want the experience to feel like a night out rather than a course.
• One Day Tufting workshop — $150. The full introduction. You'll cover setting up a frame, stretching primary cloth, threading and running the machines, and the basics of cutting, gluing and finishing. If you're seriously considering tufting as an ongoing practice, start here.

Every format includes hands-on instruction with power tufting machines, and frame, cloth and yarn are all included in the price. You work on your own design in all three. One project per workshop.

If you can't get to Philadelphia, there's also an online beginner workshop.

Can kids tuft?

Yes, and this is something we get asked constantly — often by parents who've been turned away elsewhere.

Ages 10 to 13 are welcome, with a parent or guardian present for the whole workshop. Ages 14 to 17 can attend on their own. In both cases a parent or guardian needs to complete and sign a workshop release beforehand.

Tufting machines are real tools and we treat them that way, but a supervised 11-year-old can absolutely make a rug.

Do you need any experience?

No. The overwhelming majority of people who walk into our workshops have never touched a tufting machine. You don't need to be able to draw, either — some of the best pieces that come out of our classes are simple color shapes.

If you like to read ahead, our beginner's guide to rug tufting covers the basics of how the craft works.

After the workshop

A fair number of people leave a class wanting a setup at home. If that's you, don't rush the purchase — take a look at our machine comparison first, and consider a starter kit if you'd rather not assemble your gear piece by piece.

Still have questions?

Our Workshop FAQs cover building access and logistics in more detail. Anything else, email support@tufttheworld.com and we'll answer.

See all Philadelphia tufting workshops →

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